1972 Chevy C10 - A Part Of The Family

Back in the mid 1970s when factory muscle cars were all the rage, Printerson Steward's father (despite some good-natured razzing from his gearhead pals) chose to buy a 2-year-old 1972 C10 instead of a Camaro, Corvette, or Chevelle. After driving the pickup for a few years, all the while absorbing that lighthearted ribbing with a smile, he decided to turn the tables by swapping the truck's stock powerplant for a much more muscular small-block. After that swap, the wolf in sheep's clothing soon began turning heads and winning drag races. Then, in the early '80s Printerson's dad decided to calm the pickup down a bit by pulling its high-performance engine and sliding a more sedate stock 350 in its place. Back in its stock configuration the Chevy again served as a daily driver for another 10 years or so.

In the early 2000s, the pickup was turned over to Printerson and moved to the city where it was again used as daily transportation. The pickup really turned heads in the city where taxis and tiny commuter cars were the norm. Not long after Printerson had taken possession he, his brother, and his dad came to the conclusion that the Chevy was really a part of the family and should be treated as such. So with that in mind the trio decided to treat the pickup to a full restoration and yet another fresh powerplant. Being tackled as a family affair, the guys decided to divvy up the chores with Printerson in charge of suspension upgrades, his brother doing the driveline, and his dad handling bodywork and paint.

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The engine and transmission came first. Printerson's brother happened to have a friend who did engine work so they enlisted him to handle the engine assembly. The result ended up being a healthy 355ci Vortec head-equipped small-block with a Comp cam, backed by a beefed-up TH350 trans.

The next step was bodywork, paint, and trim. For this phase the guys were lucky enough to find a shop that specialized in restoration work. The guys talked it over and decided to go back the Chevy's original paint scheme and colors. Once the truck rolled out of the spray booth, the whole gang agreed that the blue and white scheme looked great. With the truck looking so good, at this point they decided to replace all of the body moldings and trim so they whipped out their LMC Truck catalog and ordered all new trim and a complete replacement grille as well.

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With the truck's driveline and cosmetics well under control, Printerson stepped up and started on the new wheels, tires, and suspension. First, he replaced all the springs, choosing 2-inch lowering springs and spindles for the front and 4-inch lowering springs and 2-inch blocks out back. Once the truck had a new lower stance, a quartet of 20-inch Coys C5 wheels and new rubber were added as the finishing touch.

The interior was replaced with new dark blue carpet and the seat was reupholstered. They also took the instrument cluster apart and cleaned and repainted the gauge faces and needles. It was finished off with a new bezel as well. All in all, the whole project proceeded without any major setbacks and the guys are extremely pleased and rightfully proud with the result of all they're efforts.